


Tulips

by ilovetvalot



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-29
Updated: 2012-06-29
Packaged: 2017-11-08 19:22:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/446617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilovetvalot/pseuds/ilovetvalot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can flowers really ever fix any problem?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tulips

Tulips

Grasping the bouquet of red and yellow tulips in his hand as he slammed his black SUV's door, he glanced toward Emily's brownstone and wondered, not for the first time, if this was a completely fucked up idea. After all, after the words they'd screamed at each other this morning, he hardly thought a dozen mixed color tulips was going to get the job done. But he'd seen them at the grocery store while he was filling his prescription at the pharmacy and he'd immediately thought of her.

They were her favorite. And just opening their various blooms, they were beautiful. Like her. And without conscious thought, he'd swept one of the bundles into his hand before he could think the better of it. With his luck, she'd probably shove them so far up his ass, he'd be shitting tulips for days.

But, he had it coming. He'd been an ass. No, strike that. He'd been worse than an ass. He'd been a dick. And if she wanted him shitting tulip petals...well, he guessed he had it coming. If she let him in the fucking house, that is. And right now...based on her level of anger, still hovering very near the surface as she'd left work today, his chances of being permitted entrance into her inner sanctum hovered somewhere between unlikely and not fucking happening.

But he had to try.

This was Emily Prentiss, after all. And after more than half a century of dicking around, he'd finally met a woman that alternately challenged and infuriated him. In all the best ways.

It was that challenging nature that had led to their latest skirmish. Except this morning hadn't been a skirmish at all. It had been a fucking battle of epic proportion with each combatant lobbing bombs at each other with the precision of seasoned soldiers. He recognized that there wasn't any way that either of them had walked away from that fight without a few new scars, evidence of their strong wills and unwillingness to lose. But damn, now...staring up the concrete steps leading to her home, there wasn't very much he wasn't willing to concede to have her back in his empty arms. Even if it meant swallowing every fear he'd ever had and giving her the one thing he'd never given another woman before her. A part of himself. A lasting part of himself.

Emily Prentiss wanted his child.

For some unfathomable reason, she was convinced that he was the one. That he'd make the ideal father to her son or daughter. Initially, he'd called her insane. Admittedly, not a well thought out word choice. Then, he'd automatically reached for every nonsensical reason he could grasp, hurling each one at her with the force of a bullet. He'd clutched at any excuse...his age, his job, HER job...

And she'd called him a coward. No. She'd called him a fucking yellow-bellied coward, if he was being exact. And...well, he'd reacted. The skirmish had escalated into a battle and then devolved into full blown war. The entire validity of their year long relationship was questioned, the idea volleyed that, perhaps, there wasn't any wisdom in continuing a relationship that, according to her, was at a dead end.

And then he'd left. Simply turned and stormed out on the most wonderful woman that he had ever known. His mistake. He could see that clearly now, hours later.

Work had been a tense affair. Alternately stealing covert glances at each other and ignoring each other completely, he rejoiced as five o'clock rolled around. Only to realize he had nowhere to go. His condo in Arlington wasn't a home to him anymore without her there. The cabin in Toano, outside Little Creek, would never feel comfortable without her by his side again. So, he'd filled a few hours with meaninglessly mundane errands. Which had led him to the fucking tulips and her damned doorstep.

Grimacing as he stared up at her living room window, wondering if he'd imagined the fluttering of the filmy curtain, he knew his capitulation was imminent. He wanted her so much more than he wanted his freedom. It was just...he'd never done this before.

He never surrendered to another. He never gave in.

And yet, here he stood. Ready to do just that. For her. For Emily.

Forcing himself to put one foot in front of the other as his heavy steps fell against the aged brick and mortar, he lifted his hand to knock on the door, ignoring the bell completely. He needed the physicality of knocking. Needed to feel his fist connecting with something, the urge to pummel himself strong.

It was only a couple of heartbeats before he heard the chain rattling on the other side of the door, but it felt like an eternity, standing there, waiting and hoping that she'd at least acknowledge his presence. He didn't relish the thought of breaking and entering. But he knew himself well; he wasn't above it.

And then she was standing in front of him, clad in a mouthwateringly tempting pair of silky black running shorts and a brief pink tank top. Obviously braless, he forced his eyes from her breasts to her face. Hair piled atop her head in a messy pony tail, she was scowling.

"What?" she asked tersely, one hand fisting on a toned hip as she leaned against the open door.

Extending the bouquet of flowers toward her, he watched her eyes soften for the barest of seconds as she reached out to take the flowers. But they hardened again quickly as she met his gaze. "You think this fixes anything?" she asked, her voice devoid of emotion.

"No," Dave said slowly. "I think that's," he said, nodding to the mixed blooms in her hand, "a peace offering. Can we talk?"

"You mean we didn't say it all this morning?" Emily asked, walking toward the kitchen without inviting him inside.

Following her, Dave quickly closed the door, re-locking it before moving after her. Walking into her bright kitchen a few moments behind her, he blinked, his eyes adjusting to the light inside the room. Watching her peel the plastic from the blooms as she padded barefoot across the hardwoods, he steadfastly tried to ignore the way the satiny material of her shorts cupped her bottom, creeping upward on her toned thighs as she stood on tiptoe to reach her favorite crystal vase. "Start talking, Dave," Emily said quietly as she began arranging the stems inside the vase. "Or leave. Your choice."

Sighing heavily, Dave dropped his hands to the wooden center island, staring at her pale face across the short distance. "I acted like a fucking idiot this morning, Em."

"No kidding," she said softly without looking up from the flowers, her hands busy as she slowly placed each stem inside the glass. Staring down at the cut flowers, she smiled faintly. "You get credit...you even remembered my favorite colors."

"Red and yellow," he recounted absently, silently wondering how to approach this incredibly difficult conversation.

"They have different meanings, you know," Emily said faintly, her eyes clouding as she looked at the blooms.

"Really?" Dave asked quietly, knowing that Emily Prentiss never spouted useless information. There was always a reason. Always. "Red blooms mean true love, right?" Dave recalled softly.

"They do," Emily nodded, not lifting her gaze. "But that's a gimmee. Yellow is my very favorite though," she admitted.

"What does that color signify, Em?" Dave asked, heart beating a little faster as he waited for her to answer.

Raising her eyes to meet his levelly, she whispered, informing him in a hushed tone, “Yellow tulips signify hopeless love.”

Lifting his fingers to reach across the island, the urge to touch her warm skin irresistible, he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers, relieved when she leaned her head into his light caress. "Fitting," he whispered. "I'm so sorry, Emily."

Dropping her eyes back to the counter, she shrugged stiffly as she crinkled the discarded plastic sheeting in her small hands. "You can't help how you feel, Dave. And at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. I'm still hopelessly in love with you," she muttered, shoving the plastic sleeve into the steel garbage can beside the island.

Snagging her hand as she drew back, he gently tugged her around the counter toward him. "I need you to listen to me, for just a couple of minutes, okay? Just hear me out."

"My knee jerk reaction to having a child has nothing to do with you, Emily," Dave confided, the whir of the ceiling fan above them, the only sound marring the perfect stillness of the room. 

"How can you say that?" Emily denied, lifting accusing eyes to his.

Pressing a finger against her parted lips, Dave shook his head. "I'm talking right now, Em. Just give me a minute to explain it." Watching as she closed her mouth, her eyes focused on his throat rather than his face, Dave sighed. "You have to understand that in my life, every intimate relationship I've ever had has been a failure. It was hard enough disappointing women that I thought I loved. Contrary to popular belief, I don't get off on hurting other people. I don't enjoy pain. I'm not a sadist."

He knew, despite her averted eyes, that she was listening to every word he said. Watching as she swallowed tightly, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, he continued, "I never wanted to risk hurting a kid, Emily. Hell, I can't...or couldn't...even maintain a successful relationship with an adult until you. I never wanted to put a kid...my kid...through that. I don't ever want him or her to look at me with that disappointment that I saw mirrored in my former wives eyes. I don't want to fail again. I don't want to fail you. And I don't want to fail some innocent child."

"Then don't," Emily said succinctly. "Make a conscious decision to not fuck up, Dave. Be a grownup."

"You think it's that easy?" Dave asked sharply, desperately trying to resist the urge to shake the woman standing in front of him.

"No, Dave. It's hard. Being an adult, growing up, putting somebody else's needs above your own is hard. But it's what a grownup does," Emily said, her voice gently implacable as she finally lifted her eyes to his.

"The only thing that I'm absolutely certain about, Emily, is that you're the only woman that I could ever imagine trying this with. The only person on earth that I could ever trust enough to help me figure out the concept of family. Any kid would be lucky to call you his or her mother," Dave whispered, dropping his forehead to rest against hers.

"I wish you could have as much faith in yourself as I do," Emily said softly, staring into his eyes. "You can do this. If you want it."

"I want it with you," he murmured his lips ghosting her jaw. "Only with you."

Turning her head to brush her lips against his, Emily nodded. "That's good since I only want to do this with you, too." 

"In that case," Dave breathed, capturing her full lower lip between his teeth and nipping gently, "You need something fairly important from me, don't you?"

"I do," Emily affirmed with a growing smile as she swayed against him and his arms wrapped around her. "In fact, I'll probably need it over and over."

"Slave driver," Dave breathed, dropping his lips gently to suck at the slowly throbbing pulse in her neck. 

Gasping slightly at the warm pressure of his mouth on her neck, she felt his hands slowly slide down her cool arms to cup her hips, drawing her closer to him. 

"I've never loved anyone the way I love you, Emily," Dave whispered against her ear. "Not like this. It's like your essence somehow seeped into my soul, cara. And today, when I thought that I could lose this...I knew I had to try. I had to try with you."

Slipping her arms around his neck, Emily tugged his dark hair, bringing his lips to hers. "You were never in any danger of losing me. I thought I'd lost my dream. But you were never anywhere close to losing me. Haven't you figured it out yet? You're as much a part of me as I am of you."

"God, Emily," Dave breathed raggedly, covering her lips with a tender brutality. Tangling his tongue with hers as her taste flooded his tongue, he groaned deeply, palming her hips and fitting her graceful body to his. Backing her lithe body against the wooden island, Dave grinned against her lips, "Wanna know the best part about making a baby besides the actual baby?" he asked, dragging his teeth against Emily's neck as she shuddered against him.

"Hmmm?" she hummed, dragging her pebbled nipples against his shirt, the thin cotton of her tank top only a meaningless thin barrier, softly teasing her sensitive breasts.

"Spontaneous lovemaking," Dave whispered, licking her collarbone as he worked the hem over her shirt up her supple sides. "Anywhere we want. Any time we want," he said darkly, pulling the shirt over her head and throwing it over his shoulder. Sliding his fingers into the elastic band of her skimpy shorts, his hot gaze dropped to her perfectly formed breasts as he muttered, "No stopping to find the goddamned condom. No worrying about getting the fucking thing on in time. Just the hot slide of my cock into your wet heat," he promised, shoving the satin material down over her hips, sending it sailing into the floor.

"No fair," Emily complained, glancing down her now naked body as his words heated her blood. "I'm bare and you're still completely dressed," she growled huskily, attacking the row of buttons on his simple dress shirt.

Smiling as her nimble fingers worked, he teased, "You're just not as fast as I am...and you were wearing less clothes," he chuckled, dipping his head to capture her pink lips with his again, swirling his tongue against hers as she shivered against him when his fingers danced across her wet folds. "So wet for me, babe."

"Always," Emily allowed, sucking lightly at his neck as she thrust her hips against his hand and pushed the shirt off his strong shoulders.

Dropping his hands away from her body, Dave took a step back, smiling as he heard Emily's moan. Shrugging out of the shirt, he captured her hands as they reached for his belt. Moving them back to her sides, Dave shook his head. "Oh, no, babe. It's not gonna be that easy," Dave vowed darkly, cupping her hips and lifting her onto the wood behind her. "I'm the one with the valuable commodity. Which means," he drawled with a wink, "You're gonna work for it."

Rolling her eyes, Emily laughed. "It doesn't quite have the same effect if I swallow the merchandise, Dave," she mock whispered.

"Dirty little thing," Dave admonished gently, slowly working the leather of his belt from his jeans' loops. "Not quite what I meant," he murmured, popping the silver snap on his pants. "Lie back," he ordered, gesturing with a bob of his head as he slid his jeans down his legs, releasing his hardened cock to her eyes.

"God, Dave," Emily whimpered, reaching out a hand to sweep her thumb across his weeping tip, catching the pearly bead of pre-come and lifting it to her lips.

Watching as her pink tongue caught the small pool of moisture and hearing her breathy moan echo in the still room, Dave hissed, his dick twitching against his leg. Slapping her thigh gently with his leather belt, he met her bright, passionate gaze as he ordered again, his hot gaze defying her to argue, "I said lie back."

Reclining, Emily braced herself on her elbows as she watched the man she loved step between her splayed legs. Holding her breath, she watched him slowly reach toward the vase of tulips, his eyes narrowing as he debated his selection. Finally releasing the breath she held as he smiled, she saw him reach for one perfectly formed yellow tulip, it's bloom full, flawless. Sighing as he slid the soft petal against her cheek, she felt the incredibly soft petals caress her skin.

Following the path of the petals, Dave dropped gentle kisses down her jaw, across her neck. Circling the bloom around each breast, their nipples standing stiffly awaiting his attention, he slowly mouthed each globe in turn. Nipping a puckered nipple with his teeth, capturing it between his teeth, he heard her slight gasp. "Like that?" he asked, pulling sharply at her other nipple with his fingers.

"Mmmm," Emily moaned, squirming beneath him, her back arching against the hard surface below her. "Dave," she breathed, burying her hands in the short hairs at the base of his neck as his lips devoured her breasts, "God, don't tease." 

Trailing the delicate flower down her taut stomach as his mouth ate at her breast, he dipped the soft petals against her molten core, brushing her clit softly. Smiling against her warm flesh, Dave murmured, sliding his lips down her stomach as he continued to brush the flower against her, "That wasn't teasing, babe. This is teasing," he whispered, tapping the petals sharply against her engorged clit. Hearing her soft whimper of pleasure, he watched her hips buck. 

Moving the petals through the juices flowing from her core, he watched her face clench as he raised the tulip to hover beneath his nose. "Smells sweet," he whispered, flicking his tongue against the petals. "Tastes sweet, too," he said huskily.

"Dave!" Emily moaned wantonly, shifting on the island beneath his heavy gaze. Watching as he slowly dropped his head to her saturated folds, she screamed as his tongue slid through her juices, his tongue curling around her clit even as his lips pulled it between his lips, suckling softly.

"God, you're addictive," Dave groaned as her sweet juice flooded against his tongue, building his hunger more with every swipe of his tongue.

"Dave!" Emily gasped, grasping the back of his head as his tongue manipulated her sweet spots, she moaned loudly as he sank two fingers into her, curling them and rubbing that wonderful spot only he'd ever managed to find. "Christ!" Emily shouted, her voice raw as her legs trembled against the counter.

"Oh yeah," Dave whispered against her as a flood seemed to flow into his open lips. "Cream for me, baby," he ordered roughly, biting gently at her clit as he added a third finger to her snug passage. "Give me that sweet cream," he growled, blowing against her tightened bud. Flicking it with his tongue mercilessly, he felt her contract around his fingers as her satisfied wail echoed through the kitchen.

"Shit!" Emily screamed, convulsing against his mouth, stars flashing behind her closed lids.

"Fuck, yes," Dave growled, rising above her to lift her legs high on his shoulders, slamming into her wet heat. Grasping her hips, he plunged deeply into her. "Fuck me, baby," he demanded as her body gripped him like a vice, the feel of her bare pussy around his cock sending waves of white hot pleasure through him. "Goddamn, you feel so hot, Emily," he panted, slamming his hips into hers as she reached for his neck, pulling his head down to hers for a voracious kiss, wet and passionate, tongues colliding, sucking at each other as her body gripped his.

Gasping for air, Dave broke the kiss, staring down into her heavy lidded eyes. "So fucking good, Emily," he moaned, dropping his hand between them to finger her sensitive clit.

"God, I love you," Emily said, her voice unusually high as her legs tightened around his neck. "Don't stop, Dave! I'm almost there again!"

Palming her ass, he lifted her into his deep strokes, the slide of her cunt against his bare skin unlike anything he'd ever felt in his life. Each thrust was like a live electrical wire, burning his senses. Her deep satisfied grunts spurred him on. "You like it like this, don't you?" he growled, watching her sweaty glowing face. "Hard and so fucking deep than you can feel me in your throat?"

"God, yes," Emily keened, feeling the tell-tale shiver begin low in her abdomen. "Dave, I'm gonna cum again!" she gasped, eyes dilating as she felt him swell even more inside her.

The small contractions rippling though her only served to push his own release forward. Growling deeply against her neck as her nails scored his back and her frantic moans battered his ears, he whispered hoarsely, "I love you, Emily. Only you," as their peaks claimed them simultaneously. 

Collapsing against her, Dave helped her slowly ease her legs from his shoulders to fall limply over the edge of the island. Finally finding the strength to lift his body on his elbows, Dave stared down at the woman he loved. "Emily?" he whispered, his voice hoarse from his shattered release.

"Hmmm," she sighed, trailing her fingertips across his cheek as she looked up at him with half-open eyes, her body still humming with satisfaction even as her chest heaved.

"I love you," he smiled, staring down at her, turning his head to kiss her fingertips.

"And I love you," she replied, stretching languidly against him as her foot stroked the back of his leg, the crisp hairs tickling the pad of her foot.

"Think we made a baby?" Dave asked with a slow grin.

Returning his smile slowly, Emily sighed. "I actually sort of hope not. I think I'm going to love the trying. I could try with you for a very long time and be very, very happy."

Pulling her small compact body up from the counter, he grinned, lifting her into his arms. "Then I suggest, we continue our little project upstairs in that comfortable king size bed waiting on us."

Wrapping her arms around his corded neck, Emily rested her head against his shoulder. "That, Agent Rossi, sounds like a fabulous plan."

***********

Slipping out onto the front porch, Dave drew in a deep breath of the cleansing, warm spring air as the screen door slapped close quietly behind him. He couldn’t have been more thrilled that Emily had wanted to bring the baby to Toano after her birth, rather than staying in the city. Something about having the solitude of the open country, the time alone with his family, made him even more grateful. Dropping his eyes to the delicate bundle in his arms, he grinned at the dark, purplish-black eyes staring up at him with quiet intelligence. “See, little one, Daddy kept his promise. I told you I’d spring from baby jail on the first pretty day we spent at the cabin.” 

Still amazed at the actuality of the fact that he had someone to call him daddy, he let out a deep chuckle as the baby girl waved a fist in the air, her tiny fingers perfectly formed. Easing them both down into the redwood rocker, he tucked her blanket tighter around her small frame as he murmured, conspiratorially, “And remember, this is our little secret. No blabbing to your mama about your great escape, okay?”

“I heard that,” came the lilting voice of the woman that he loved more than life itself, her dark head appearing suddenly from around the side porch.

His eyes definitely guilty, Dave grinned sheepishly as he met Emily’s mock-stern expression. “Hi, babe! What are you doing out here?”

“Apparently keeping my husband from teaching our impressionable, infant daughter how to commit a felony,” Emily chastised, placing a large pot of blooming flowers on the wooden railing.

“I don’t have felonious tendencies,” Dave objected, setting the rocker in motion with a soft push of his foot against the plank floor. 

“Oh, but I have evidentiary proof in the form of a verbal confession,” Emily grinned, padding over to the rocker to peer down into the angelic face of her one and only daughter, “Hey, sweetheart! Remember that conversation we had at the hospital, okay? Don’t ever listen to anything Daddy tells you without confirming it with Mommy first!”

“Hey!” Dave snorted loudly, lowering his voice suddenly as he felt the infant jerk in his arms. Whispering, he muttered as he rooted for the ever-present pacifier, “You’re going to have her thinking I’m not a worthy father!” Cocking one eyebrow, he added, smugly, “And you wouldn’t want me to tell her exactly how much Mommy wanted Daddy to be her father, now would you?”

Halting in mid bend as she was reaching for another pot of flowers, Emily glared at the man she now called husband as she warned, “David Rossi, if you ever think of telling our daughter any of that story, I swear to God I’ll let her date when she’s fifteen.”

“Oh he…heck no,” Dave retorted, tucking the squirming baby closer as he murmured, “Mommy’s taken leave of her senses. My little girl’s never going to date. You’re going to join a convent and be a nun, aren’t you?”

“Dave, think about it. She has us for parents. I think some of our genes might rub off on her,” Emily smiled, having heard that declaration many times over the past five weeks since they had brought their baby home from the hospital. The delivery had been a breeze in comparison to the forty plus weeks of pregnancy, during which she had been subjected to the over-attentive, anal retentive, obsessively protective and obviously psychotic actions of David Rossi. After two short, but highly enjoyable, months of attempting to create life, the doctor had happily confirmed their success. And Dave had become a drill sergeant. He had moved her lock, stock and barrel to his much larger condo, bought a whopper of a diamond ring, and proposed….all in the same weekend. And to her surprise, Emily had said yes. Immediately.

Because as much as she realized that she wanted his child, she also knew that she wanted him. Forever. 

Pressing a finger over his daughter’s tiny ear, Dave hissed, “Don’t say those things around her! She might hear you!”

Laughing lightly at the scandalized look on his face, Emily popped the final pot of flowers on the opposite railing as she scolded gently, “Then you shouldn’t have brought her out here. You knew I was going to work on these arrangements today.”

“I thought you were still on the phone with JJ,” Dave admitted, popping the small purple pacifier back into his daughter’s cherub mouth as he slipped his index finger into her small palm, feeling an inexplicable joy when she tightened her tiny fingers around his. Glancing around the porch, he asked, head cocked, “Babe, I think we’ve run out of porch for all these flowers.”

“And whose fault is that?” Emily asked, rolling her eyes as dusted her gloved hands against her cut off jeans. “You were the one who kept having tulips delivered for the last five weeks. Even though we gave most of the loose cuts to JJ and Garcia, it was either move the potted ones outside or watch hundreds of dollars go to waste.”

“I had to get all the right colors,” Dave defended himself as he shifted the baby, propping her into the corner of her arm as he pointed at the colorful flowers. “See, Mia? Daddy got you and Mommy all the pretty flowers.”

“Daddy went overboard is what he did, Mia,” Emily informed her daughter as she laughed at the baby’s widening eyes. Her voice softened as she added, sighing, “Although, I have to admit I love these purple and violet blooms. They’re gorgeous, Dave.”

“I thought you might enjoy those, seeing as how they match Mia’s eyes,” Dave nodded as he felt his breath catch in her chest at the beauty that was his wife. Her dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail, she moved with the grace of a model as she stretched to adjust a variegated bloom, her body more perfect than ever to him as her t-shirt stretched over her well-endowed breasts. How could he ever have imagined his life without her? Without either one of these Rossi women?

“You know what the color means, don’t you?” Emily asked softly, drawing in the deep fragrance of the flowers, of spring, of the wonder of life as the afternoon sun warmed the edge of the porch.

“Royalty,” Dave answered immediately, smiling smugly as she turned, her eyes surprised. “What? You really expected me not to know? I also know that Mia means “wished for child.” I’ve paid attention, Emily.”

“It’s not that,” Emily shook her head, moving closer to the rocker as she baby stirred in Dave’s arms. Pulling off her gardening gloves, Emily dropped them on the side table as she reached a finger out, rubbing it across the baby’s chubby cheek. “Mia, tell Daddy we were just wondering why he thought that was a good color and meaning to add to the already multicolored mix. Besides eye matching, that is.”

Capturing Emily’s hand and drawing it to his lips, Dave pressed a gentle kiss to her knuckles as he smiled. “Mia says that Daddy’s a smart man, and he knows how lucky he is to have the perfect world and the perfect life.” His fingers tightening around hers, he quoted, “The tulip's petals shine in dew, all beautiful, but none alike.” His tone dropping, he added, seriously, “I have my queen and my princess, Emily.”

Leaning down, Emily pressed a soft kiss to Dave’s lips, whispering, “And we have you, Dave. And we’ll talk about your possessive, male chauvinistic tendencies later.” Dropping her eyes as the baby let out a disgruntled cry, she cooed, “Oh, were we ignoring you? Is it time for my baby’s nap?”

Easing up out of the rocker, Dave slipped Mia to his shoulder, grinning as she rooted her tiny face into the crook of his neck, her fingers grasping the edge of his shirt. “Yep, that’s her sign. She’s ready for bed again.”

“Actually,” Emily drawled, following her husband and daughter back inside their warm home, “Mommy thinks she is, too.”

His step faltering, Dave turned slowly, his eyes narrowing as he grumbled, “Don’t even joke about that, Emily Rossi. Trust me, you have one more week. I have it marked on my calendar. On ALL my calendars.”

“That’s just an arbitrary date,” Emily pish poshed, sliding ahead of him as they reached the nursery, the green and yellow room soothing and calm. “Besides, even if we don’t hit the main event, I think we can find a few things to keep us occupied while our little girl catches up on her beauty sleep.”

“Then in that case,” Dave murmured, placing the baby in the oversized cradle, patting her tummy as she squirmed in the blankets, “I’m sure Mia wants Mommy and Daddy to have a nice, quiet, LONG nap, doesn’t she?”

Pressing a kiss to her sleeping daughter’s smooth forehead, Emily brushed the head full of black hair with her fingers before she stepped away from the cradle, baby monitor in hand, moving toward the hallway. Grinning, Emily called softly over her shoulder, “And Dave?”

“Yes, dear?” he answered obediently, mesmerized by the sway of her still-perfect hips underneath the cut denim as he followed two steps behind her.

“I forgot to tell you that I left one bouquet of tulips in the house.” She paused, then added, slowly, “In the kitchen.”

And by the tone of her voice and the lilt in her laugh, David Rossi had no doubt exactly how he was going to make good use of those remaining flowers.

After all, tulips were meant to be shared.

FINIS


End file.
